Inking device



March 5,1935. w, A ROEH'M 1,993,284

INKING DEVICE Filed April 21, 1954 ATTORNEYS.

Yof making the Patented Mar. 5, 1935 UNirao stares legarsi PA'rEur ortisk The invention relates to inking devices such as are used on printing presses. It has for one of its main objects to provide an inking device which will deposit the ink on the printing surface'direct from a single transfer roll which is in continuous contact with and is rotated by one of the pair of co-acting rollers which form the ink fountain;.

and to provide perfect distribution of the ink without the aid of reciprocating or ductor rolls as now commonly used, and Without the necessity sensitive adjustments for controlling the ow of ink from the fountain as when the ductor blades withtheir multiplicity ofy adjusting screws are used.

Another object is to so construct the device that it may be adopted to either rotary or flat-bed type printing presses. A further object is to provide means for positively preventing the ink, no matter what its consistency may be, from Working over the ends ,of the rollers which form the ink fountain.

A still further object is to so construct the device that it may be made a part of the press proper or as an attachment thereto. Additional objects are to pro-vide an inking device of simple and efcient construction from which not only one, but several colors or kinds of ink may be fed simultaneously, which will save time in washing up andgetting ready, and which can be added to printing presses now in .use without any great expenditure and without necessi- ,tating great changes in the presses.

These and various other objects and advantages Will vbe readily understood from the following description and from the accompanying drawing of preferred embodiments in which..

however, modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the drawing Fig. 1 shows an end view of the inking device with one of the side frames removed,

Fig. 2 is a plan View of Fig. 1 with the side frame added, and

Fig. 3 is an end View of a somewhat modified device in which the side frame has also been removed.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, the device comprises two side frames 10 and 11 which either may be separate frames or be part of the frames j of the printing press itself. Two ink-controlled rollers 12 and 13 are mounted in bearings in the side frame. One of the rollers being provided with an adjustable bearing 14 so that the rollers may be adjusted in relation to each roller on both sides,

other by means of the screws 15. The rollers are driven, 'from any suitable source, by gears 16 and 17. l y The ink 18 is contained in thetrough formed between the two rollers and is prevented/from iiowing endwardly, from this trough by the blocks 19, one of which is placed at each end of the roller. These blocks are shaped so as to fit between the rollers, as plainly shown at Fig. 1.

A cross bar 20, having a slot 21, extends from one frame to the other over the center-of the ink trough. The blocks 19 are slidinglymounted in relation to the rollers and provided with pins 22A which engage in the slot 21. Compression springs 23 assure a firm contact with theink rollers. The ink, as the rollers turn in the direction vindicated by the arrows, is deposited on the rollers, and the ink from the roller 13 is transferred to the -transfer roller 24 from which it is deposited on therotary printing surface indicated by dotted lines at25.

The ink-from 'the roller 12, as well as the ink left on the roller 13, is re-deposited in the trough. and prevented from working endwiseover the end of the rollers by the bevelled faces 26 formed on each end of the blocks 19. It will be noted that the rollers 12 and 13 may be adjusted in relation to each other so as to accommodate ink of different consistencies and to allow more or less ink to be deposited on the rollers.

Ordinarily the beveled faces 26 are suicient to prevent the ink from working 'Vndwise along the rollers but with inks of certain consistency I prefer to add the scraper 2'74 shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This scraper consists of apiece of angular, .soft brass or similar material, the lower end of which is shaped to conform to the inking roller. This scraper is held in contact with the inking roller by a clamp 28 whichis actuated by a spring 29 held under the head ofa screw 30. By adjusting the screwSO, thelpressure on the scraper 27 may be increased or decreased as desired. It is preferably clamped to the block 19 by a spiral spring 31, as shown. The ends of this spring are fastened to the block and the resiliency of the spring holds the scraper in certain parts only, by intermediate blocks, as

shown in Fig. 2. The specially constructed block 32 is so arranged as to scrape the ink from the or in other Words, it has a double bevel. In this 4case also a scraper may be employed. The fblocks can, of course, be

located at any place lengthwise ofthe rollers and any desired number may be used.

The modification shown in'` Fig.- 3 .has two transfer rollers 33 and 34 and the side frames 35A are hinged to the frame of the printing press by studs which engage in openings 36 formed near the bottom of the frames. f

The whole device may be rocked from the position indicated by the center line A to that indicated at B by means of a rocker arm 37 which is pivoted to the frame at 38 and to which motion is imparted from any suitable source. In this case, the transfer rollers 33 and 34 alternatelytransfer the ink to the flat printing surface 39 as the device is rocked and the printing surface reciprocated. The rest'of the parts are numbered as in Figs. 1 and 2.

Having described my invention and its objects, what I claim as new and wish to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. An inking device comprising a frame structure; a pair of co-acting and continuously-rotating rollers forming a trough for holding a quantity of ink; spring-actuated blocks for confining the ink within the trough and for dividing the trough into separate compartments; angular, spring-actuated Scrapers associated with-'said blocks for returning the ink to the trough and its compartments; and a transfer roller, permanently contacting` with and rotated by one of said first-mentioned rollers, for transferring the ink from said flrst-mentionedroller to the printing` surface of the press on which the device is employed.

2. An inking device comprising a rockinglymounted frame structure; a pair of co-acting and continuously-rotating rollers forming a trough for holding a quantity of ink; means` for confining the ink within the trough; a transfer lroller, permanently contacting with and rotated byeach of the first-mentioned rollers, for transs ferring the ink from said first-mentioned rollers to the printing surface ofthe press on which the device is employed as the frame structure is rocked in timed relation to the operation of the press.

3. An inking device comprising a frame structure; a pair of co-acting and continuously-rotating rollers forming a trough for holding a quantity of ink; a plurality of blocks for confining the ink within the trough and for dividing the trough into several compartments; a, slotted cross-bar secured on top of the frame structure; all ofsaid blocks provided with Kpins slidingly engaged in the slot in said cross-bar; compression springs mounted on said pins between the cross-bar and the blocks for holding the blocks in intimate contact with the rollers; and a transfer roller, permanently contacting withand rotated by one of said first-mentioned rollers for transferring the ink from said first-mentioned roller to the printing surface of. the press on which the device is employed.

4. An inking device comprising a frame structure; a pair of co-acting and continuouslyrotating rollers forming a trough for holding a quantity of ink; a plurality of blocks for conning the ink 'within the trough and for dividing the trough into several compartments; a slotted cross-bar secured on top of the frame structure; all of said blocks provided with pins slidigly engaged in the slot in said cross-bar; compression springs mountedon said pins between the cross-bar and the blocks for holding the blocks in intimate contact with the rollers; angular, spring actuated scrapers mounted on said blocks for aiding in returning the ink to the trough and its compartments; and a transfer roller, permanently contacting with and rotated by one of the first-mentionedv rollers for transferring .the ink from said first-mentioned rollers to the printing surface of the press'on which a device is employed.

5. An inking device comprising a rockinglymoun'ted frame structure; a 'pair of co-acting and continuously-rotating rollers forming a trough for holding a quantity of ink; a plurality of blocks for confining the ink within the trough and fordividing the troughinto several cornpartments; a slotted cross-bar secured on top of the fra-me structure; all of said blocks provided with pins slidingly engaged inthe slot in said cross-bar; compression springs mounted on said pins between the cross-bar and the blocks for holding the blocks in intimate contact with the rollers; and a transfer roller, permanently contactingv with and rotated by each of the firstmentioned rollers for transferring the ink from said first-mentioned rollers to the printing surface of the press on which a device is employed as the frame structure is rocked in timed relation to the operation of the press.

6. An inking device comprising a rockinglymounted frame structure; a pair of co-acting and continuously rotating rollers forming a trough for holding a quantity of ink; a plurality of blocks for confining the ink within the trough and for dividing the trough into several cornpartments; a slotted cross-bar .secured on top of the frame structure; all of said blocks provided with pins slidingly engaged inthe slot in said cross-bar; compression springs mounted on said pins between the cross-bar and the blocks for holding the blocks in intimatecontact with the rollers; angular, spring actuatedV Scrapers mounted on said blocks for aiding in returning the ink to the trough and its compartments; and a transfer roller, permanently Acontacting with and rotated by each of the first-mentioned rollers forv transferring the ink from said firstmentioned rollers to the printing surface of the press on which a device is employed as the frame structure is rocked in timed relation to the operation of the press. WILLIAM A. ROEHM. 

